Patriot Posted June 7, 2013 Share #1 Posted June 7, 2013 It looks like the soldier incised a diamond into the front of the canteen cover, and inserted a piece of red painted fabric inside - denoting the hard fought 1st Division of the 3rd Corps. This one is also nice in that it has the original jute stopper cord - a characteristic of an early war canteen. I like this one quite a bit - and has no doubt "seen the elephant"! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patriot Posted June 7, 2013 Author Share #2 Posted June 7, 2013 ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austin R Posted June 7, 2013 Share #3 Posted June 7, 2013 Very nice canteen, we don't see that much CW stuff on the forum anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patriot Posted June 7, 2013 Author Share #4 Posted June 7, 2013 Here is a soldier wearing the M1858 smooth side canteen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ww2relichunter Posted June 8, 2013 Share #5 Posted June 8, 2013 WOW i havent seen i civil war canteen in this condition in a while if ever and with the 1st division emblem even better !!! Very rare piece mate !! Thanks fro posting !! been looking forward for you to post some cw stuff for a while ! and is the picture of the soldier one that came with the canteen ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patriot Posted June 8, 2013 Author Share #6 Posted June 8, 2013 Unfortunately no - I posted it to illustrate one in actual use. I will bring out more of the collection for people to see if there is interest. Thanks for looking! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patriot Posted June 8, 2013 Author Share #7 Posted June 8, 2013 Just to be clear - the red diamond indicates the 3rd Corps of the Army of the Potomac. Each corps consisted of three divisions. The first division was color coded red, the second white, and the third blue. This made it very easy for a general to tell what troops were approaching the field. So for instance, General Meade could have seen the red diamond on the hat of a soldier, and he immediately would have known that it was General Birney's 1st Division, of General Sickles 3rd Corps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M24 Chaffee Posted June 8, 2013 Share #8 Posted June 8, 2013 That's a really great piece! I know that I would enjoy seeing more CW stuff. I'll look forward to more photos of your collection. I have a very small collection that I enjoy and I'll post some pics soon. Regards, Frank. Also, that is an excellent soldier photo! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patriot Posted June 9, 2013 Author Share #9 Posted June 9, 2013 Thanks guys - I appreciate the comments from everyone. As time permits, I will post more of my collection. This is the 3rd smooth side that I own. I have one New York Depot canteen, one that is part of a group identified to a Gettysburg veteran in the 157th New York, and then this one. I would also agree with WW2relichunter that complete M1858 canteens are getting difficult to find. The majority that you find are missing the stopper, the strap is broken or completely missing, and the cover is gone. Of interest, though, is that sometimes those covers were removed by the soldiers themselves - it seems to have been a personal preference, There are several images of soldiers wearing canteens without the cover. Even still, complete canteens are highly sought after by collectors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khe Sanh68 Posted January 26, 2014 Share #10 Posted January 26, 2014 I always liked the model 1858 canteen. Condition is real nice. What is something like this worth? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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